Victorian Mental Health: Strategies, Achievements and Benefits

Running head: VICTORIAN MENTAL HEALTH 1
Victorian Mental Health
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Victorian Mental Health

VICTORIAN MENTAL HEALTH 2
The state department of Victoria is focused on improving the Victorian healthcare system
by positively changing the operations and the way of doing things in the health sector. Currently,
mental health problems and associated disorders are on the rise worldwide. World health
organization WHO (2011), predictions showed that depression alone will constitute the second
major cause of such diseases in the world by the year 2020. For this reason, the Australian
government is keen on addressing the factors causing the diseases in order to improve the human
health and the general well-being. Of all the diseases and disorders, mental illnesses are not only
common in most parts of the world but also, their social, human and economic consequences are
devastating. This is particularly due to its association with alcohol and other drugs use whose
consumptions is on the rise globally (Drake, O'Neal and Wallach 2016). As such, the
government is committed to addressing both the mental health as well as alcohol and other drugs
use or abuse. Several programs are on the run with the aim of devising systems that will respond
to people’s needs, improve the quality of service delivery by medical practitioners, expand the
capacity of the available workforce as well as improving on transparency and accountability
when handling sensitive health-related tasks. This paper focuses on the Victorian mental health
strategies, policy, and plans, achievements, and benefits as well as the extent to which these
strategies have improved the level of service delivery to the people of Victoria.
The strategies by the government aimed at promoting good mental health to the
Victorians as well as supporting the families adversely affected by the poor social and emotional
well-being. Fighting mental illnesses starts by preventing their spread or by elevating their
causes. The mental health strategy deploys specialist who is well conversant with both treatment
and prevention. Prevention focuses on the youth who are the most vulnerable to alcohol and
other drugs abuse. Despite the fact that different groups are more likely to suffer from mental

VICTORIAN MENTAL HEALTH 3
illnesses subject to their vulnerability, unfavorable environments, social and economic
conditions, the program aims at creating and maintaining a high level of accessibility to mental
services to all Victorians. However, more intensive actions are directed towards the socially and
economically disadvantaged groups (Manning et al., 2015).
The mental health strategy is of fundamental importance to the people of Victoria. First,
every citizen requires a good mental health to thrive and secondly, mental health sickness can
affect anyone regardless of the age or economic background. Indeed not all mental cases are as a
result of substance abuse but instead could be biological. For that reason, victims have the right
to access to specialized services and treatments. With regards to mental health, we all have
varying levels of need and at times, the conditions range from short-term reactions for example
relationships conflicts, grieve due to loss of loved ones and work-related stress to other complex
situations. With time and the necessary support, such mental conditions are bound to fade away
(Manning, Smith and Mazerolle 2013). Such a treatment strategy among other initiatives by the
government, for example, universal education, healthy families, and liveable cities all acts as the
building blocks to better mental health to the residents of Victoria and Australia at large.
As the guiding principles, the government developed a 10-year plan in 2015 with the aim
of reforming the past for a better future as well as guiding investments for an efficient mental
health care to the country’s residents. Despite the dynamic world, we are in today, the strategy is
set on systematic and consistent approach and this has greatly helped the design, the
implementation and the development of service delivery. The strategy is consumer-oriented,
involves carers and family members, is anchored on medical, biological, social and psychosocial
factors affecting mental health and well-being, and is oriented towards personal recovery. Above
all, it is evidence-based. Evidence-based practice is a process that integrates the best available